The Art of Dementia Care

by Daniel Kuhn, Jane Verity

The Art of Dementia Care is a practical guide intended for all who provide support, encouragement and care for people with dementia. Using a relationship model of care, you will learn how you can make a positive difference in the lives of those with dementia. Discussion and examples will challenge you to reflect on your attitude and behavior towards people with dementia and teach you to provide thoughtful care to each person in your care. The authors draw upon examples from common clinical situations to highlight how to practice the art of dementia care through the recognition of the limits of people with dementia and the promotion of their strengths and abilities. Ultimately, the quality of the care you provide can greatly affect the quality of life the person with dementia will experience. The Art of Dementia Care will set you on the path to thoughtful and meaningful care.

96 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2007

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Daniel Kuhn, MSW is Vice President of Education at All Trust Home Care, a home services company that specializes in the care of people with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, with offices in Hinsdale and Deerfield, Illinois. Since 1973, he has been active in the fields of health care and aging as a social worker and an educator. He completed a master's degree in social work at the University of Illinois in Chicago and is a licensed clinical social worker. He has authored or co-authored more than 50 publications on dementia care, end-of-life care, and family caregiving issues. He was the 2009 recipient of the Mental Health and Aging Award by the American Society on Aging. In 2015, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Illinois Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers. He frequently gives presentations at conferences throughout the U.S and Canada.

Reviews

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personal Response: The book, The Art of Dementia Care ,was the most touching and informational book I have ever enjoyed. I rated this book four out of five stars. It was full of ways to treat patients with Dementia and how Dementia developed. I enjoyed the part of the book where it gave tips and tricks to taking care of a confused person as a CNA. Nurses made taking care of patients that are confused look easy, when really it was one of the hardest things to do in a nursing home.


Plot: The Art of Dementia Care was full of different stories of patients with Alzheimer's disease. It gave examples of how to approach a patient when they had a break down, and how to talk to a patient that had stage four of dementia. Dementia and Alzheimer`s disease were two completely different types of confusion. They both occur in the brain when the nerves tangled together. The area of the brain was no longer in use anymore, which made the patient forget where they are. Alzheimer's disease was where the brain was so tangled that the patient tended to think they were young again. For example an 85 year old women had Alzheimer's disease and thought that she was getting married every single day. She would relive her big day every single day when in reality she was old and lived in a nursing home. Now the nurses in this book were suppose to do something called reminisces care. This meant the nurses were suppose to play along the with dementia. If the nurses wouldn't play along it would just aggravate them more than the person with Dementia. Another great example would be when a women was reliving her childhood days. The resident would ask the CNA where her mom was. Now imagine what it would feel like if someone told a person that their mom died along time ago and they are in a nursing home. It would make them feel very sad and angry. Now if the CNA would have answered with, ”can you tell me about your mom”,It would stir up good memories and the conversation would be done. This book was full plenty of things that not many people would actually think about.


Characterization: The author was the only true character in this book. His point of view was different than everyone else's. He walked in their shoes and described their feelings in deep descriptive words. He has his Phd degree and specialized in the dementia field.


Setting: This book has been written around eight years ago. In the medical field everything is updated and changed quickly. Right now there is no cure for Alzheimer's disease, but there are more theories along with it. This book does not have a certain time it takes place, due to it being non fiction.


Theme: The theme in this book was about identifying a person diagnosed with dementia and how to act around people with dementia. Alzheimer's disease ran in my family. My great grandma was diagnosed with alzheimers in her late 60`s. She reached the fourth stage by the time she passed away. It got to the point where she forgot how to speak English and continued to speak Swedish, which was where she was from.



Audience: I recommend this book to any gender because it can relate to anyone. This is a more mature book; therefore, I would recommend this book to the age 14 and up. Everyone should have a little knowledge behind dementia. This book will help people understand the basics of Dementia and how to act around someone that is confused.

[Gwynette Koch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Personal Response:
I give this book 3 out of 5 stars. I thought that the author did a good job of explaining the material to the audience in an understandable and relatable way. I liked how the author included examples of what he was teaching.

Plot:
The Art of Dementia Care is a non-fiction that teaches its readers about dementia. This book includes information about what dementia is, different causes of dementia, and most importantly, how to deal with people who have dementia. The book starts off describing how doctors first started to diagnose dementia in people. The author gave examples of how a person with dementia might act and how a good nursing assistant should react to them. This book tells the reader how to be the best nursing assistant to someone living with dementia and how best to react to some of the symptoms that dementia might bring on. The author also includes how to deal with the family of the person with dementia.

Characterization:
Earl is in the early stages of dementia. He is sometimes forgetful and needs more help than his family can offer him. Mildred is in the middle stages of dementia. She forgot who her husband is and needs help with daily activities due to her forgetfulness. Lucinda is in the late stages of dementia. She can no longer comprehend what other people are saying, and she has lost most of her speech. She needs help with most everything now.

Setting:
This book was written about eight years ago, so the information most likely is not up to date. However, the information is still completely relevant, because nursing assistants should still treat dementia patients the right way. This book is not up to date because the medical field is constantly advancing so the medical perspectives in this book might be a little outdated.

Thematic Connection:
The theme of this novel is to treat people suffering from dementia the proper way. The nursing assistant should try to think about who the person was before the disease to get a better understanding of the actual person, not the disease. I can definitely relate to this theme because my grandpa suffers from Lewy Body’s dementia. I can remember how he was before the disease so I can see him as the person he used to be and treat him as a person instead of a disease.

Audience:
This novel would be appropriate for audiences (13+) who would like to learn about dementia care, and how to better understand dementia. This book would be useful to both genders. The reason that I recommended this book to 13-year-olds and up is because everyone should have at least a basic understanding of this horrible disease.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great book that makes you look at person-centered care for dementia patients. Most of it is common sense yet there were parts that really bring to light caring for those with dementia in a compassionate way.

[Carisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book to look at when working with dementia using person centered techniques. It's a thin book; quick read.